Killer of mom & baby convicted

Former Marine Cesar Laurean has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who was 8 months pregnant at the time of her death. According to the Elliot Institute, homicide is the #1 cause of death for pregnant women in the United States. Many of these homicides are connected to a mother’s refusal to have an abortion. In Lauterbach’s case, though, the motive was apparently revenge: she had accused Laurean of rape.

It’s hard to find a silver lining in such a tragedy. At least the media did a praiseworthy job, sensitively depicting the reality of TWO victims:

The remains of Lauterbach, 20, and her unborn baby were found in January 2008 in Laurean’s backyard firepit. Authorities determined that her body had been buried there since December 2007, when she first went missing from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina when she was eight months pregnant.

Laurean, 23, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to The Associated Press.

Mary Lauterbach, the victim’s mother, read a statement in court saying to Laurean, “I feel so sorry for your daughter. She will have to live with the shame that her father is in prison for murdering not one but two people,” the AP reported.